Musa acuminata 'Zebrina'
COMMON NAME | Blood banana |
TYPE | Ginger/Heliconia |
FAMILY | Musaceae |
NOTES | A
variety of the wild banana Musa acuminata, named for the dark red patches on
its leaves, though its small-seeded fruits are also edible. It grows 6' to 8'
tall in the wild. They are notable for
being one of the earliest banana subspecies to be spread by humans out of
Southeast Asia. Introduced eastward to Africa, it became the ancestors for
the genetically distinct and commercially important East African Highland
bananas (MutiIt is probably the only seeded banana to ever be introduced into
Hawaii before European contact. It is known as the Mai'a 'Oa in Hawaiian,
though the name is also applied to the species Musa balbisiana which was
introduced later on. |
GEOGRAPHIC REGION | Sumatra, Indonesia |
NATIVE
HABITAT | Shaded
and moist ravines, marshlands, semi-marshlands and slopes at elevations |
WEB SOURCES |
